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Warning: That reverse osmosis system I built from a plumbing kit turned my tap water into acid
I spent about $80 on a countertop reverse osmosis setup from parts at Home Depot (you know, the kind with the little plastic tubes and a storage tank). Hooked it all up last Tuesday and was so proud of myself for drinking "pure" water. But then my pH test strips (the ones I use for my aquarium) showed the output was around 5.5 which is like lemon juice territory. Turns out RO strips out the minerals that buffer your water's pH and without them your water becomes slightly acidic. I've been drinking it for a week and honestly my teeth feel a little sensitive now. I learned you're supposed to add a remineralization cartridge or just accept that RO water is not neutral. Has anyone else messed with DIY water filtration and gotten weird chemistry results?
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abbyk101mo ago
Real life is full of hidden chemistry that nobody warns you about until it bites you in the teeth.
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coleman.jamie1mo ago
Right? It's like nobody ever warned me that mixing bleach and ammonia in the garage would make me question my entire existence for an afternoon. Or that the "clean" smell from a new shower curtain is actually just you huffing a cloud of plastic fumes. My buddy thought he was being smart reusing a pickle jar for gasoline and nearly blew his eyebrows off trying to light a grill. And don't even get me started on the time I accidentally used steel wool on a cast iron skillet because I was "cleaning" it - rust city for the next month. The real hidden chemistry is just learning the hard way that everything in your house wants to kill you or make your dinner taste like regret.
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